Love in the Snow
by rainbow-rider
Summary: A bit of slush. The midwinter ball sets Love Letter trying to matchmake Ice Crystal. FINISHED!
1. Of Decorations and Challenges

Disclaimer: I do not own "My Little Pony", the toys/ characters and everything else belongs to Hasbro.  
  
Dream Valley was covered in a thick layer of snow, icicles hung from the balconies and turrets of Dream Castle and layers of ice covered the moat and streams. Love Letter was gently cantering towards the castle carrying a roll of posters. She dodged the baby ponies having a snowball fight outside the Lullaby Nursery and waved at Peachy and Truly who were supervising.  
  
"What's she doing?" Baby Blossom asked Baby Glory watching the white adult blend into the snow as she hurried away. "They're getting ready for the Midwinter Ball," the small unicorn replied, "Love Letter's in charge, Mama says I'm old enough to stay up for it this year- I can't wait!" As Love Letter reached the castle drawbridge two well aimed snowballs disturbed the two babies and they rejoined the fight.  
  
Love Letter shook her mane once she reached the entrance hall to remove a few loose flakes of snow; she then looked around in pride at the sight that met her eyes. Over the past few days the castle had been transformed into a glittery wonderland, a perfect setting for the extravagant Ball that Love Letter had planned. Garlands of holly and ivy wound down the banisters of the stairs and round the doorways. Two massive fir trees had been brought inside and Twilight and Galaxy had covered them with small magically shining stars. A silk canopy was looping from the ceiling that had also been decked with lights by the talented unicorns. Love Letter walked over to a corner of the hall where one lavender unicorn was tossing her tail and stamping her hooves in frustration.  
  
"Having problems Powder?" Love Letter cheerily asked the grumpy looking unicorn. "These swan sculptures just look wrong, not realistic, and it's not helping that my work area is in the vicinity of the kitchens, everything's melting before I can magically fix them." Powder grumbled. Love Letter regarded the exquisite sculptures, Powder was one of the best artists in Ponyland and her ice sculptures were very sought after, however her temperamental artistic nature often made her overly critical of her work. "They're wonderful Powder, no one else could do such fantastic work," she tried to placate the other pony. "And, I'll try and sort out another work area so you have less melting problems."  
  
"Did I hear someone say melting problems?" came a voice from the stairs. A gust of freezing air rushed past the two ponies and turned a few drips from Powder's sculptures into ice as they fell and they tinkled on the stone as they landed. Love Letter and Powder spun around to see an icy green Clydesdale whose very breath was sending the gust of freezing air towards them. Ice Crystal stopped and sent a charming smile towards the earth pony and unicorn.  
  
"Oooh, Ice Crystal, thank you so much." Love Letter gushed and coyly flicked her hair as the Mountain Boy Pony regarded the castle entrance hall. Powder also sent him a winning smile- her artistic strop forgotten.  
  
"Glad to help. I suppose I'll see you both at the ball tonight." Ice Crystal started walking towards the door, obviously a bit embarrassed by all the attention he was receiving.  
  
"And who are you taking to the ball Ice Crystal?" Love Letter trotted across the hall to block his path.  
  
"Taking?" The Clydesdale stopped and looked at Love Letter in puzzlement.  
  
"Yes, you know, as your date. Your dancing partner." Love Letter opened her eyes in shock amazement, "Surely a handsome pony like you has someone to go with."  
  
"Well, erm. you know I was just thinking of going with a group of friends, not actually. with. anyone.in particular." Ice Crystal was desperately trying to sidestep around the manically grinning Love Letter.  
  
"Oh no that won't do at all, will it Powder?" Love Letter turned to the unicorn who shook her head deliberately. "EVERYONE will be coming with SOMEONE you see Ice Crystal. It would be a shame for you to be left out."  
  
Ice Crystal was just about to protest that really he wouldn't feel that left out when Love Letter suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, I've just had a little idea!" Ice Crystal's heart sank. "Why don't you let ME find you someone as a date, I'm sure there are lots of suitable ponies. And I'll make a very sensible choice and it saves you any bother at all!"  
  
Ice Crystal had a feeling that Love Letter had been planning something like this all along, and he knew that he had to find a way out. "Well, really Love Letter that's very kind but. but.I'd really like to do the asking myself." Ice Crystal wondered where the words came from.  
  
"Oh," Love Letter looked very taken aback, "But do you have anyone in mind to ask?"  
  
"Actually, yes, I do." Ice Crystal took his chance to walk past the small earthling and towards the door. "I'll go and ask her now!"  
  
Love Letter however was not going to give up, turning around she delivered her final challenge. "But if by sunset you still don't have a date, will you go with the person that I choose for you?"  
  
Ice Crystal stopped and looked back at her, "You're on." He then walked firmly out of the castle front doors, letting them slam forcefully behind him.  
  
"Well, how interesting, I think that Ice Crystal really does have someone that he'd like to ask. And no guesses for who that is." Love Letter slyly said to Powder.  
  
"Who?" Powder said in amazement.  
  
"Why you of course Powder darling, he obviously couldn't look in your direction comfortably just now, I think he has a bit of a crush on you. And you two would be so sweet together, what with you both being able to manipulate snow and ice. Oooh, next year we could have a winter wedding for you!" Love Letter was beginning to get carried away with her new project.  
  
Powder began to protest. "But, I don't think he does Letter! He said that he was just going to ask her now. And surely he would have just asked me on the spot."  
  
"Oh no," Love Letter was adamant, "He only said that because he was too shy to ask you in front of me- he is much more romantic than that. And I think that he really wanted me to ask you for him in the first place. You'll see, at sundown he won't have asked anybody and so he can go with you. It'll be so sweet and he will be so happy that I chose you. Anyway, the preparations for the Ball won't do themselves. I'll meet you just before sundown and we'll go and find Ice Crystal together." Love Letter sent Powder a radiant smile and headed into the castle ballroom. 


	2. Misunderstandings in the salon

Ice Crystal trudged through the snow away from Dream Castle, the powder soft ice sticking to the feathered hair around his feet. "Stupid Love Letter and her matchmaking." He grumbled to himself, "Bet she hasn't even organised a date for herself, she's so wrapped up in other people's business."  
  
His musings were disturbed when he was hit squarely on the head by a very large snowball. He wheeled round, ready to give the expected baby ponies a piece of his mind when he came nose to nose with his friends Sunburst and Lightning. The orange and yellow mountain boys were grinning mischievously at their snow covered victim.  
  
"So, Icy, why the long face?" Lightning tried to keep his laughter under control as Ice Crystal shook himself free of the snow.  
  
"Love Letter's told me I need to find myself a date for the ball otherwise I have to go with a pony of her choosing." Ice Crystal moaned.  
  
"Oh, so you're being forced to spend a romantic evening with a lovely female- wow Icy, what a nuisance (!)" Sunburst's sarcasm just put Ice Crystal in a worse mood. "Well, why don't you just ask that little earthling that we all know you have been pining after for the last year or so?"  
  
"I'm going to," Ice Crystal protested, "But I don't like being forced into these things. And besides, she might say no." Ice Crystal dropped his head weakly. His two friends looked at each other and shrugged.  
  
"Come on Ice," Lightning nudged the green pony in the shoulder, "You'll never know if you don't ask, and I don't think she has a date yet either."  
  
"YET," Sunburst reinforced the message. "Just go and ask her. Go gettum boy- make the Mountain Boys proud!"  
  
"Yeah! You're right," Ice Crystal spun around and started trotting away, "I'll go ask her. Hang on," He looked back at the other two Clydesdales, "Who are you two going with?"  
  
Sunburst sniggered, "Lightning was asked by Gusty, he felt that he couldn't really say no!"  
  
"Well, would YOU say no to Gusty? She scares me!" Lightning protested, but he did look slightly pleased with himself. "Besides, Sunburst has tried three times to ask Heart Throb to be his partner and every time has got so tongue-tied she can't understand a word he's saying."  
  
Ice Crystal chuckled to himself and, leaving his friends to bicker, started trotting in the direction of the Crimp and Curl salon, most of the ponies would have gathered there in the build up to the ball, he was sure to find the pony he was looking for!  
  
The salon was full of ponies doing their hair in complicated styles. Fifi was rushing around curling manes and trimming tails and hardly noticed Ice Crystal wondering around looking bemused. He ducked away from Paradise wielding some hair curlers and got hit square in face by a blast of perfume from Daisy Sweet. Blinking his eyes to get rid of the painful perfume he finally noticed the pony he was looking for, her pink hair was tied back with a yellow ribbon as she added some final touches to Posey's tail. Ice Crystal slowly edged himself closer feeling big and awkward in comparison to the small earthling.  
  
"There you go Posey, I think it looks lovely. I hope you have a nice evening." Bow Tie smiled at Posey in the mirror and shyly looked down as the yellow pony went into excited squeals as she swept her tail admiring the job that Bow Tie had done. Bow Tie turned to her trunk of carefully folded ribbons and quietly started to pick out some colours that would go nicely with the green locks of Medley, who was now settling herself in the chair that Posey has vacated.  
  
Ice Crystal gently cleared his throat and felt his stomach turn over as Bow Tie looked up at him and give him a small smile. She then blushed furiously and busied herself with the ribbons.  
  
"Oh, Ice Crystal, are you wanting ribbons or maybe a tie of some sort? I'm afraid there's a bit of a queue at the moment but here, I have one necktie left." Bow Tie pulled a perfectly folded black silk tie out of her trunk and handed it to Ice Crystal.  
  
"Oh, thank you Bow Tie, that's great." Ice Crystal managed to stutter out. He couldn't understand why it was so hard to get a few words out or why Bow Tie's modest smile and gentle speaking sent his insides on a roller coaster ride. "Actually, Bow Tie, there was one more thing," the dark blue pony looked up at him expectantly, "I was just wondering if maybe you might . . ."  
  
"Happy Midwinter everybody! How are all the preparations going?" The door to the salon had been flung open and Love Letter had marched in followed by Powder and Moondancer. The salon erupted with calls of "Happy Midwinter" and "Oh, Love Letter we are so excited!" from the assembled ponies. In the confusion Ice Crystal found himself being pushed away from Bow Tie and was soon squashed against Powder. He smiled uncomfortably at the lavender unicorn and tried to stop a shelf of shampoo falling onto his head.  
  
"Hi again Ice Crystal," Powder wiggled painfully as her tail was stood on by the crowd, "Are you wearing that tie to the ball? It'll look lovely I'm sure."  
  
Ice Crystal smiled down gratefully at Powder and, realising that there was no way he was going to get Bow Tie on her own again in this rabble he excused himself and made his way back out into the snow, not realising that he was being carefully watched by both Love Letter and Bow Tie.  
  
In the confusion Moondancer had found her way over to Bow Tie and was asking her a favour. "It's my turn to baby-sit the newborn ponies this evening and I wouldn't mind doing it, it's just that Sunbeam has asked me to be his date for the ball and I would really love to go, would you mind terribly standing in for me Bow Tie? That is unless you have already arranged to go with someone?"  
  
Bow Tie looked sadly towards the door, which Ice Crystal had just walked out of, and sighed softly, "No, I don't have a date. I'll baby-sit the newborns tonight, I don't think I'd have enjoyed the ball that much anyway."  
  
Love Letter slipped out of the salon and galloped after Ice Crystal. "Ice Crystal! Wait a second!" she called out. The Clydesdale turned around and waited for her to reach him.  
  
"The pony you were going to ask was in that salon wasn't she?" Love Letter slyly observed. "I saw you talking to her and I saw you smiling at her!"  
  
"Well, considering that half of Ponyland was in that salon it wouldn't have been hard to work that out." Ice Crystal griped. "So what, you saw me talking to her, does it really matter anyway- there's no way I can get back into that swarm and ask her to be my partner this evening."  
  
"Well, that's easy!" Love Letter exclaimed, "Now that I know who it is, I can ask her for you!"  
  
"Really?" Ice Crystal looked closely at the earthling, "Would you really do that for me Love Letter?"  
  
"Of course, it would be my pleasure!" Love Letter pranced excitedly on the spot. "We'll meet you at the Bridge at sundown. You go and get ready!"  
  
Ice Crystal cantered off and Love Letter turned back to the salon to find Powder. "Oooh, everything is going perfectly, Powder and Ice Crystal will have such a lovely time tonight. It'll be the most wonderful Midwinter Ball ever." 


	3. The Ball and the Ending

Hi everyone, I wasn't expecting this fic to turn out to be three chapters long. It just went on for a bit longer than I thought it would and I didn't want to make the chapters too long. It was a desperate task to finish this in time for Christmas- I hope the ending is satisfactory for you all. MERRY CHRISTMAS WHEREEVER YOU ARE!  
  
As the sun set over Dream Valley the snow turned a brilliant red, and the baby ponies gasped at the scene.  
  
"Oh look Truly," Baby Glory exclaimed, "It's so pretty it looks just like magic!" "It sure does babies," Truly started encouraging them all inside, "Now you older ones have to start getting ready for your big night and the tinys had better be good for Bow Tie tonight!"  
  
Down by the bridge over the stream Ice Crystal was watching the first stars come out and their reflections twinkling in the ice below the bridge. He felt a mixture of nerves and excitement, his stomach was doing somersaults and he kept anxiously checking around for Love Letter and his date. "I hope I look ok for her, she did pick out this necktie for me," he murmured to himself as he checked his reflection in the frozen water.  
  
"Yahoo! Ice Crystal!" Love Letter's voice carried over the snowy wonderland. Ice Crystal felt his body shake as a tingle of anticipation swept over him. He turned around with a broad grin to see the two approaching ponies. Love Letter looked splendid in a glittering tiara and long red cape with white fur trim. Anxiously Ice Crystal turned his attention to the other pony and he stepped forward with a smile, which became slightly fixed as he realised something was wrong. The other pony was a unicorn, a lavender unicorn. Ice Crystal felt his heart sink as he recognised Powder who wore a big smile along with her hair in a high extravagant twist.  
  
"You look fabulous Ice." Love Letter gave him a dazzling smile and then looked pointedly towards Powder, "I'll leave you two alone and I'll see you at the castle."  
  
As she started to walk away Ice Crystal stopped her and hissed lowly so that Powder couldn't hear " Is this some kind of a joke of yours?!" he looked like he would have been happy to freeze Love Letter with his breath on the spot.  
  
"Joke?" Love Letter was genuinely confused, "But, I thought that it was Powder . . .? There's someone else? I'm sorry."  
  
Ice Crystal took a deep breath; he could see that Love Letter was genuinely apologetic. "It doesn't matter Love Letter, the damage is done, I'm sure me and Powder will have a nice night." He gave her a wane smile and turned to face the purple unicorn.  
  
"You look lovely Powder, shall we start walking down to the castle?"  
  
As the three ponies meandered their way across the valley Love Letter walked slightly apart from the other two thinking to herself. From the snippets of conversation that she heard it sounded like Ice Crystal was being exceedingly polite to Powder and was trying to make the most of the situation that he had found himself in.  
  
"But who was it then?" she asked herself. "Whom else was Ice Crystal talking to in the salon before? Oh dear, what a mess!"  
  
As they approached the castle another pony was stepping across the drawbridge in the opposite direction. It was Bow Tie, heading towards the Lullaby Nursery to take over the babysitting duties from Truly. Love Letter saw the look of surprise and disappointment on Bow Tie's face as she saw Ice Crystal with Powder, but the blue pony gathered herself and wished all three of them a good evening. As Bow Tie walked alone over the snow, heading in the opposite direction to all the other ponies that were gathering for the ball Love Letter also saw the look of longing and sadness that crossed Ice Crystal's face as he briefly looked back to watch her go. The white matchmaking pony suddenly understood and vowed to herself to make the situation right by the end of the evening.  
  
The castle ballroom was just as resplendent as the entrance hall and, filled with little ponies dressed in their best, looked like the perfect setting for the perfectly wonderful Midwinter Ball that Love Letter had planned. As the evening progressed Love Letter was showered with praise from everyone congratulating her on doing such a marvellous job. She took every compliment gracefully but her mind was still on the matchmaking mess that she had created. As the clock approached 10pm the Rocking Beat ponies who were providing the music started a slow song and many of the couples took to the floor. Love Letter smiled as she saw Moondancer and Sunbeam dancing closely together and gave a gentle chuckle as she saw Baby Brother Sweet Celebrations desperately trying to get away from Baby Northstar who was carrying some mistletoe. Turning from the dance floor she found Powder at her side.  
  
"Love Letter, I'm really sorry to disturb you but it's just that Chief has asked me to dance," Powder gently shifted her weight from one foot to another as she explained her predicament, "And I would REALLY like to but I don't want to upset Ice Crystal, do you think he would mind too much? Because I am his date really aren't I?"  
  
"Love Letter looked over to the table where Ice Crystal was idly playing with a white lily in a vase, his mind obviously elsewhere. "Powder, I don't think he will mind too much, I'm really sorry but I think I made a mistake." She told the unicorn. "Well, that's a relief to me," Powder lowered her voice, "Because Ice is a very nice guy but. . .well I do like Chief a bit more."  
  
Love Letter nodded and left Powder to spin out on the dance floor with the handsome Big Brother pony. Walking over to the despondent Ice Crystal's table she wondered what she could say. She then realised that she had one more chance to make it right; she just hoped that Ice Crystal would trust her enough.  
  
"Ice Crystal?" the green pony lifted his head and gave her a polite nod, so she just ploughed straight on, hoping that the right words would come out, "I know that I messed up with the whole date thing but I'm pretty sure that I can sort things out and I know that you have no reason at all to trust me but maybe if you'd come with me now then I can get you with the person that you really wanted as your date in the first place."  
  
Ice Crystal gave her a blank look. "But what about Powder? I'm supposed to be here with her."  
  
Love Letter nodded towards the dance floor, "Something tells me that she won't mind too much."  
  
Ice Crystal looked over and saw Powder smiling and blushing at something that Chief had just whispered in her ear. He looked at Love Letter and gave a deep sigh, "I suppose I don't have anything to lose." And he meekly followed her out of the room.  
  
The music from the castle was gently drifting over the snow-covered Dream Valley and, through an open window downstairs in the nursery, Bow Tie could hear the faint noises of a great party. One small tear leaked out of her eye and slowly made its way down her cheek until she angrily wiped it away. Suddenly the front door opened and Love Letter came quietly into the room, wiping her hooves to get rid of the snow.  
  
"Love Letter? What are you doing here? You should be at the Ball- it's your night!" Bow Tie looked at the other earthling in confusion.  
  
"No Bow Tie, it's your night." Love Letter said quietly, gesturing towards the door, "Go on, go outside. I can watch the babies."  
  
Bow Tie was uncertain but went outside without further complaints. As she looked over the valley the moon came out from behind a cloud and bathed the snow in a soft silver light, sparkling off individual flakes. She saw the figure of a Clydesdale pony waiting a bit away and looked doubtfully back at Love Letter who just smiled and mouthed, "GO!" at her.  
  
As Bow Tie made her way across the soft snow towards the male pony she slowly realised who it was and her heart felt that it would burst with the huge mix of hope, excitement and uncertainty that she was feeling. As she arrived in front of Ice Crystal she gazed up into his face and saw the same mix of emotions in his own face.  
  
For as long as he could remember Ice Crystal had been wondering how to tell Bow Tie just how he felt and now that she was stood with him in the snowy wonderland, bathed in moonlight, stars reflecting in her eyes that were turned up to him he still couldn't find the words to describe the rush of sensations that were inside of him. All he could do was gently lower his head to touch his nose against hers and look deeply into her eyes.  
  
The two ponies found that actions said all that needed to be said and as they cuddled up to each other in the snow, pink mane getting tangled with white, the moon shone down on them from the star studded sky, the soft music carrying from the ball filled their ears and everything and everyone else was forgotten.  
  
Fin 


End file.
